Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) [India], January 17 : Amid protests in Beldanga over the alleged murder of a migrant worker from West Bengal in Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shankar Ghosh on Saturday alleged that anti-national elements were attempting to disrupt the country by creating unrest and chaos.
Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said, "The job of anti-national elements is to disrupt the country by any means necessary, create issues, cause destruction, road blockades, and general chaos. Those who think about the country's best interests would never do such things... These anti-national forces receive help from outside the country..."
His remarks came amid continued unrest in the Beldanga area of Murshidabad district, where protests broke out over the alleged murder of Alauddin Sheikh, a Bengali migrant worker, in Jharkhand.
On Friday, Sheikh's family members and local residents blocked National Highway 12 and disrupted rail traffic by setting tyres ablaze on tracks under the Sealdah railway division at Beldanga as part of the protest.
Violence continued on Saturday, with protesters from the Beldanga Block Road blocking roads and demanding justice for the deceased labourer. Security forces were deployed in the area to restore normalcy and prevent further escalation.
Earlier on Friday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP's "double-engine government" of fostering violence against migrant workers in states ruled by the party. Meanwhile, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said he had spoken to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren soon after learning about Alauddin Sheikh's death and was assured that necessary action would be taken. He also announced Rs 2 lakh in financial assistance for the victim's family and said Sheikh's wife had been provided a government job.
In Patna, the Commission expressed deep concern over the tragic and worrying reports of alleged mob lynching frequently emerging from the state and demanded prompt and effective action from the state government. In this regard, the Commission Chairman, Maulana Ghulam Rasool Balyawi, sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Bihar and the Director General of Police.
According to the Commission, viral videos on social media and news published in various newspapers and channels make it clear that in several districts of Bihar, mobs are targeting people for violence based on rumours and religious identity by labelling them as "Bangladeshis," which is highly condemnable.
The letter mentions several key incidents, stating that Mohammad Athar Hussain, a resident of Gagan Diwan village in the Laheri police station area of Nalanda district, who traded clothes as a peddler in Nawada district, fell victim to mob lynching and died during treatment.
Similarly, an attempt was made by a mob to attack an elderly Muslim man in Muzaffarpur district. Additionally, Mohammad Murshid Alam, a resident of Supaul district, was brutally beaten and seriously injured in Tichka village under the Rajnagar police station area of Madhubani district, the release noted.